On to Oregon...
The western half of Oregon is lush and spacious without too many large towns. I headed to the town of Ashland, famous for its Shakespeare festival. Enjoyed dinner at a microbrewery before heading towards one of Oregon's natural wonders, Crater Lake. As it was early evening when I left Ashland, I stopped to camp for the night on public land 20-30 miles south of Crater Lake. I remember being at least a mile from the main road where nobody was around. I didn't know how many bears were out, and I didn't see any, but I was eager to stay in my tent because I didn't expect anyone to drive by for awhile in case anything happened. Of course, nothing did and in the morning I headed towards Crater Lake.
Hipsters in Ashland Mt. McLoughlin I hit so many bugs!
Crater Lake is, as its name implies, a crater of a volcano that used to be there. There's still a smaller volcano, visible as an island in the middle of the lake. The water is crystal clear and very clean. There are no rivers and the sides of the lake rise hundreds of feet; the lake is 100% rain and snowmelt. Speaking of snow, it was a warm day in the first week of June and still a massive amount of snow on the ground! I can't remember ever walking on snow in shorts and a T-shirt without feeling cold before.
Perfectly clear and still water of Crater Lake with the volcano island
Even in June the buildings are half buried...but it's warm enough for summer clothes
I was too high up to reach the water down below, and in any case it would have been bitterly cold to try and swim. So I left Crater Lake and headed north, stopping for lunch at Odell Lake in the middle of a large forest, and then continuing northwest to Eugene. Eugene is home of the University of Oregon. I past the university but did not do anything else in Eugene, rather I continued west. I reached the ocean at Florence and then drove north. The Pacific coast here is similar to northern Calfornia - rugged, green, overcast and chilly. But it was beautiful - hills, giant rocks, lighthouses, even an area called "the Devil's Churn" where water hits a narrow inlet in the rocks and pushes up through holes in the rock.
Heceta Head Lighthouse Bridge by the "Devil's Churn"
Chief Kiawanda Rock - Pacific City, OR My car made it onto the beach! (Pacific City, OR)
I went for a hike on Cape Lookout, a piece of land that juts out into the Pacific and a break from the usual north/south course of the Oregon coastline. Because of this, and the high elevation above the water I was able to have some great views to the north and south from here. I did make a foolish move, however: In Wells Cove - an inlet on the peninsula, I walked in front of a protective barrier to get this photo:
I leaned slightly forward to get the vegetation out of the way. You can see up the coast and the water crashing along the cove. But one slip and it would have been a long way down! I have not made a foolish move since.
I did not travel the entire way up the Oregon coast, although I easily could have. I visited the charming and stout Cape Mares Lighthouse and the odd "Octopus Tree" that has limbs emerging here and there giving it its name. My trip inland began in Tillamook where I visited the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. Unfortunately the full "experience" was on hold due to renovations and they just had a display in a large pre-fab building instead. At least they had free samples of cheese curds. I like cheese curds.
Before long I was in Portland, Oregon's largest city. Portland is known as the "Rose City" and is home to the International Rose Test Garden, a free park where you can see hundreds of different varieties of roses in bloom. I also visited a friend who lived in Oregon City, the "End of the Oregon Trail", where they have a large monument for the computer game - I mean, pioneer trail - that put them on the map.
International Rose Test Garden, Portland OR Oregon Trail's End